Billionaire Richard Branson-promoted Virgin Atlantic's first domestic flights service, dubbed Little Red, will take off on March 31 in Manchester.

The upcoming flights service will connect Manchester, Edinburgh and Aberdeen to London Heathrow. Flight operations from Edinburgh and Aberdeen will start from April 5 and April 9, respectively.

As Internet is awash with reports that US Airways Group Inc and AMR Corp.'s American Airlines can announce a merger deal anytime this week, some insiders claim that timeline for the deal could be pushed back due to resistance from the side of American Airlines' CEO Tom Horton.

AMR Corp.'s American Airlines and US Airways Group Inc. can announce a merger deal this very week, people with direct knowledge of the matter said.

Two people, who requested anonymity because the talks are private, said that the two companies were working on details of an $11 billion merger agreement, and that an announcement for the same could be made before the end of this week.

However, the deal will also required to be approved by the boards of both carriers, a bankruptcy judge in New York and federal regulators.

Singapore Airlines, the Asia's second largest carrier by market capitalisation, on Thursday issued a warning that loads and yields for its passenger and cargo businesses would likely remain under pressure.

The warning comes as the carrier reported a year-on-year declined of 17 per cent in operating profit to $131 million for the quarter through December 2012.

Ryanair's has long been trying to get its Irish rival carrier Aer Lingus be broken up and remodeled, claiming that it would be beneficial for both the carrier and Irish consumers. But, Aer Lingus' good annual results are expected to help it to ward off Ryanair more effectively.

Plane maker Boeing Co has reportedly requested the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to let it resume test flights of the 787 Dreamliners.

Australian airline Qantas on Monday announced numerous key changes to its Asian flights plans to broaden its reach in the world's biggest continent as it is preparing for its new partnership with Middle Eastern airline Emirates.